SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- After enjoying a strong rookie season, the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was selected as the top South Korean athlete of 2013, a national survey showed Monday.

Ryu, the left-handed starter for the Major League Baseball (MLB) club, earned 51.4 percent of support in a poll conducted by Gallup Korea. The pollster surveyed 1,702 South Koreans aged 13 or older from Nov. 1 to 18. The voters could select up to two athletes.